Postdoctoral Training in Translational Research on Intellectual and Developmental DisabilitiesThis project is pending, with a projected start date of July 1, 2009. Applications can be submitted now. DescriptionThe past few decades have seen extraordinary progress in understanding, preventing, and treating the behavioral and cognitive deficits associated with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD). Continued progress will require programmatic research that not only is informed by a broad, interdisciplinary perspective, but also integrates basic research and application. That is, progress in understanding and treating ID will require a translational research effort that entails not only the flow of knowledge from basic research to the solution of clinical problems, but also the laboratory investigation of the behavioral and biological mechanisms that underlie these problems. The goal of this training program is to foster the development of researchers who are well prepared for a translational research career. Our primary means of achieving this goal will be the active and continuous participation of the trainees in the translational research programs of the mentors, and the guided development of trainees’ own lines of research. In keeping with the interdisciplinary, translational approach, program faculty come from several academic departments, including Speech-Language-Hearing, Psychology, Pharmacology and Toxicology, or have primary appointments in the Institute for Life Span Studies. Project AdministrationJohn Colombo, Ph.D. Project ContactKathryn Saunders, Ph.D.ksaunders@ku.edu phone: 620 421 6550, ext 1891 fax: 620 421 0954 This is a project of:Kansas Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center Funded by:Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development |
How to applyPreliminary applicationSubmit a brief (< 50 lines) written statement of research interests and skills that includes relevance of current skills to research in IDD, and how these interests might be pursued in the laboratories of one or more of the training-program faculty. Along with this statement, include a first-authored publication or manuscript, and the names of three references. Send materials to ksaunders@ku.edu and/or colombo@ku.edu. Applicants approved by a majority vote of the training-program search committee will be invited to submit a full application. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or legal residents. Full applicationThe full application will be submitted after in-depth discussions between the applicant and potential postdoctoral mentor(s) fully explore the trainee’s research objectives. This will involve a visit to KU and one or more potential labs. Discussions between the mentor(s) and trainee will result in the development of a written training plan that describes how the trainee’s research skills will be expanded. The written materials will include brief overviews of several research projects in which the trainee would be involved. These would be written by the trainee with assistance from the potential mentor, and will highlight the questions to be addressed, how those questions fit within a translational research program, and how projects are related to IDD. This plan will be sent to the training-program search committee, whose votes will determine whether the training plan merits acceptance to the program. Faculty, academic appointments and research interestsSteven Barlow, Ph.D. Neural mechanisms of sensorimotor integration and motor control among orofacial and vocal tract structures in infants, children, and adults. http://www2.ku.edu/~splh/Faculty/BarlowBio.html Nancy Brady, Ph.D. Early communication in children with disabilities including children with fragile X syndrome, autism, Down syndrome and sensory impairments, variables contributing to the acquisition of gestures, and augmentative or alternative forms of communication including speech-generating devices and signed words and early vocabulary acquisition Judith Carta, Ph.D. Response to intervention in Pre-K, evidence-based practices for young children, risk factors affecting children's development, monitoring progress in young children and parenting interventions and effects on young children John Colombo, Ph.D. Developmental cognitive neuroscience of attention and learning with a special focus on early individual differences in these areas and how they relate to typical and atypical cognitive and intellectual function http://www.people.ku.edu/~colombo Marc Fey, Ph.D. Grammar development, early speech intervention, language intervention, prediction and prevention of written language disorders, development of children’s narrative abilities Stephen Fowler, Ph.D. Psychopharmacology, behavioral pharmacology, behavioral neuroscience, biobehavioral instrumentation, neurotransmitter-related genes and behavior, antipsychotic drugs, central nervous system stimulants http://www.pharmtox.pharm.ku.edu/ Charles Greenwood, Ph.D. Measurement for practitioners in early childhood, instructional and behavioral interventions and intervention research design, analysis, and evaluation Todd Little, Ph.D. Self-regulatory processes of individuals, the meta-theoretical cohesion of action-control theory, and the methodological consistency of using the most appropriate individual- and group-differences analytic system available. http://www.psych.ku.edu/psych_people/faculty_Todd_Little.shtml Kate Saunders, Ph.D. Foundational skills for early reading instruction, especially phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle, instructional programming for individuals with intellectual disabilities and autism, stimulus control, self-injurious and aggressive behavior Steven F. Warren, Ph.D. Early communication and language development and intervention, and the prevention of mental retardation. Over the past 30 years, he has investigated the effects of a variety of different communication and language intervention strategies intended for use with children three years and younger who have developmental delays. http://www.rgs.ku.edu/leadership/warren/warren.shtml Dean Williams, Ph.D. Translational research on maladaptive and aberrant behaviors in persons with developmental disabilities, behavioral laboratory research with humans and animals, research in analogue and clinical settings, animal models of maladaptive behaviors Send corrections/comments/questions to lifespan@ku.edu. |
